Winter
by Aaniat
Summary: Winter isn't only a season.
1. Chapter 1

"Is this necessary Ben?"

Benjen Stark turned his face to gaze at his brother who rode alongside him on his own black stallion, studying the newly formed lines upon his face. It had been a little less than a month since Eddard Stark had returned home to take on the role of Lord of Winterfell following the death of his father and elder brother. The war had been won, with all Targaryens wiped out of Westeros and Robert Baratheon declared King.

They were traveling through the region of The Gift, on their way to Castle Black. Ned had protested violently when his little brother informed him of his intention of joining the Night's Watch a few day's after Ned's arrival home. He had shouted, begged, and spent the entirety of the few days following the disclosure of Ben's intentions convincing him to stay. For reasons unknown to him, however, Benjen was adamant on leaving. Eddard Stark then decided that, after failing to make his little brother stay, the least he could do was accompany him on his journey. He couldn't let him go alone - Ben was still his baby brother, after all.

Sighing, Benjen slowed down the pace of his horse, "Yes, it is. What is unnecessary, however, is you coming all the way down here to see me off. I'm a grown man! I can make a couple of miles on my own."

"Gods know when I'll see you again!" Ned exclaimed, growing increasingly tired of his brother's ignorance. Straying from the Kingsroad, they had come to a halt inside of Queenscrown, the stone tower of the abandoned village a few meters away from them. "You are my brother, you are my family. This could very well be the last time we're in each other's company, pardon me for wanting to make the most of it!"

Ben opened his mouth to reason with his elder brother, but closed it shut upon hearing a cry. Acknowledging his brother's change in expression, Ned furrowed his eyebrows.

"Listen to that," Ned tried concentrating upon Ben's instructions. "Is that a child?"

The two men spent a few more seconds trying to figure out where the cries were coming from before riding towards the back of the tower. They came to a halt before a tiny bundle of cloth and exchanged weary looks. Ned dismounted his horse and hesitantly approached their source of delay, kneeling down to unwrap the white fabric around it only to gasp. Eyes with irises the transparency of crystal, containing glowing specks of blue stared back at him, widening as the infant stopped crying in Ned's arms.

Benjen strode towards his brother, looking down to study the babe in his arm. It was a girl, merely a few months old. Her eyes were like none other he'd seen before, the hair atop her head a darker black than night itself. It was the oddest combination of features the two men had ever witnessed. Her haunting gaze remained fixated on Ned, taking in the appearance of the man holding her.

"Ned, you must take her back," Ben gently shook his brother's shoulder, urging him to stand up. "Gods know how long she's been lying her. Look at her! She has no proper protection against the harsh weather, just a cloak of velvet. It's a wonder she isn't dead yet!"

Ned only then realised the truth in his brother's words. The babe was naked, other than the yard of velvet wrapped around her, and the weather was not merciful. He gave Ben a pained look, "Cat's already losing her head over the arrival of Jon, I can't burden her with the responsibility of another child."

"Ned, she's barely seen two moons. I can't take her with me, you know that. We have no choice. I did not spot a single soul along our journey that could claim responsibility of this child. You have to take her back. You have to." Ned knew Ben was right. Nothing in the world was worth the life of a child, and he knew she had no chance of survival if he did not take her back with her. "Winter is coming, Ned."

Ned looked up from the babe to stare at his brother. It felt like hours before he nodded at him and they strode back to their horses. Following a long hug, they bid farewell and mounted their horses, finding their separate ways. Ned glanced down at the babe secure in one arm of his as the other held onto the reigns of his horse, galloping forth. "It's alright," he turned her face into his chest to shelter her from the wind. "You'll be okay."

Within the week, Ned was back home. The gates of his castle drew open as he entered, the babe asleep in his now tired arm. Sparring was nowhere near as exhausting as holding a child. Coming to a stop, he dismounted his horse and shifted the sleeping child into his other arm. He returned the greetings of the men who rushed to receive him and then bolted towards The Great Keep, striding towards his room.

"Ned," Catelyn grinned upon the sight of her husband entering the room, standing from her position on the bed with a sleeping Robb in her arms. Her eyes then travelled to the babe in his arms, her grin dropping before she pursed her lips into a straight line.

"Before you ask," Ned started as he stepped forward. "I found the poor babe left on the ground in the middle of an abandoned village near The Wall. There was no one around to tend to her, she would've died within days on her own."

Catelyn was a kind woman, a good woman, but the wound in her heart cast by the existence of Jon Snow was still fresh. It would always remain fresh. "Maybe if you had actually bothered to look for someone to tend to-"

"Seven hells Cat, there was nobody!" Ned cut her off. "Would you rather the death of an infant be on your husband's head?"

Catelyn lowered her gaze. Her husband was right, she knew that. The babe was barely three moons of age, but she couldn't help the way she was acting. Fortunately for her, Ned understood. He always understood.

Sighing, he existed the room and strode down the corridor, reaching another door. He knew his wife would warm up soon enough; his wife's anger was not worth the the value of the life of a child.

He entered the room, startling the septa who had begun to doze off in her chair. "Lord Stark," she whispered.

Ignoring her, Ned stepped towards the crib next to her, unable to help the smile that formed on his lips upon seeing Jon sound asleep. As quietly as he could, he laid down the sleeping babe in his arms next to Jon.

"Care for them as you would care for Robb," he spoke to the septa as he continued to gaze down at the two infants. Raising his head in time to see the septa nodded, he exited the room.

* * *

 **A/N: Just joined this site because Game of Thrones Season 6 has ended and I was suffering withdrawals. Any who, this is my first attempt at a** **fan fiction. Please do review it and let me know what you guys think! I have big plans for this**


	2. Chapter 2

Sona sat at her window and sighed. She could feel the air grow warm as the sun rose before her eyes, hues of the morning cascading over the fraction of the castle she could see. She had, once again, suffered through a night of little to no sleep. Her anxious mind had kept her awake, though she was clueless as to what caused her anxiety in the first place. There was nothing worrying her and she could find no plausible reason for her restlessness, yet the pit of unrest inside her grew larger and larger with each passing day. It was ridiculous, not to mention annoying.

Dismissing her thoughts, she stood from the window and made her way to her closet, pulling out a plain grey dress that she had worn more times than she could count. She took off her nightgown and slipped into the dress the steward's daughter Jeyne Pool had made to fit her specifically. The girls of the castle found utmost joy in designing dresses for one another but Sona couldn't care less about it. She had been making do with the same dresses for years after her womanly figure had come into form. She pulled her boots on and slightly brushed through her curls, pinning the hair that framed her face to the back so it didn't disturb her as she went about her day.

Sona exited her room and heard the faint sound of footsteps come from around the corridor. Knowing well who it was, she smiled as the door to her room shut behind her. "You're up rather early, little Lord,"

Robb Stark turned into the corridor just as she finished her sentence, rolling his eyes at the way she addressed him. "Stop calling me that. You make me sound like a privileged little boy when we are quite literally the same age."

Sona chuckled as he stopped to stand in front of her and crossed his arms over his chest. "But you _are_ a privileged little boy," she remarked, making him raise his eyebrows at her as if he anticipated a correction of words. "Okay, maybe not so little."

He huffed as they began walking towards the exit of The Great Keep. "Thank you, you are most kind."

Sona nudged him lightly and laughed, earning a slight chuckle from him as well. "You must stop waking up so early," she spoke as they walked into the courtyard. "It worries me that you don't get enough sleep at night."

The castle slowly rose up to life as the morning progressed. They could hear the faint sound of the blacksmith getting to work from not too far away, as well as the ruckus of the horses inside the stables as they were fed.

"I get enough sleep at night, don't you worry your little head over it. Besides, you get to be graced with the company of yours truly every morning, why should you complain?" Robb looked down at her from the corner of his eye and teasingly arched an eyebrow, making her chuckle some more. He always made her laugh, all the time. Robb was Sona's best friend, and she his. They had grown up together and there was yet to be a day they spent without one another. Even when they were ever overwhelmingly busy with their own duties, they tried their utmost best to spend as much time as they could with one another, be it only for a couple of minutes. Robb was the best part of Sona's day, as was she of his - Sona knew. She knew that the only reason Robb forced himself to wake early was for her sake, so he could give her company while the rest of the castle slept their last hour or two of sleep.

She scoffed as they continued strolling around the castle. "I'll have you know that I have many important matters to tend to at this time of day."

"Like what? Counting the number of crows that fly over?" Robb sat across her as they approached a table near the armory. He noticed the slowly increasing number of guards shuffling to the Guard's Hall with intentions of breaking their fast, reminding him of his hunger just in time for his stomach to growl.

Sona narrowed her eyes at him. "You humor me. And have you not eaten?"

"Have you?"

Moments later they were inside the Great Hall, Robb seated in his usual place at the family dining table while Sona leaned against the chair across from him. No other member of the Stark family was present, all of them probably still getting dressed or in bed. Robb, on the other hand, was almost finished with the food that had been placed in front of him merely minutes ago. Sona watched him as he devoured his food, amused.

Finally prying his attention away from his plate, he lifted his head to look up at her. "Whaf?" he questioned, his mouth full.

"Please speak when your food is halfway down your throat if you want me to comprehend what you say."

Robb rolled his eyes and spent a few seconds chewing his food, finally swallowing. "Why don't you just sit and eat? I know you're starving."

Sona shook her head. As right as he was, the family dining table had no seat vacant for the likes of her. It was reserved only for the Stark family and their guests of honour. Irrespective of her involvement in the daily lives of the Starks, she knew there were certain boundaries that couldn't be crossed. She was no high born. "You know I can't. Don't fret though, I will grab something from the kitchen soon after you're done."

And she did just that. Swallowing her last piece of sweetened bread, she walked alongside Robb, both of them headed back towards the armory. The castle was abuzz with people now; the blacksmith was still at work, the guards roamed around, going about their own business, the kennels and stables were filled with the noise of various different animals and men sparred with one another in practice near the armory.

They had just returned to their places on the wooden table they had sat on earlier when a voice approached them: "Such a knobhead I am, searching for you two everywhere but here!"

Sona laughed as she saw Theon Greyjoy approach them, his expression a mixture of arrogance, ignorance and smugness all at once - it was quite his usual expression, really. Greyjoy was a difficult man to get along with. At eight and ten, he was two years older than both Sona and Robb. Despite his cocky demeanor, Sona considered him to be one of her greatest friends. An incident regarding a very angry horse that Theon had provoked during his earlier days at the castle was all it took for Sona to help out the scared adolescent and befriend him. And when she befriended him, so did Robb. No one really understood how the two tolerated the Iron born, but Sona and Robb were too well acquainted with his real self to care.

Then took a seat beside Sona, "I looked everywhere for you two, like I do every morning! Why do I always forget that you're always at the fucking armory?"

She laughed at his idiocy, "It's quite alright Greyjoy, happens to the best of us. I'll be sure to send out ravens your way from now onwards to inform you of our whereabouts every morning."

Theon rolled his eyes as the other two laughed. As hard as Theon tried to ridicule others, when it came down to being alone with the two of them, he was always the joke of the lot. He didn't mind, not really. Not when he was alone with the only two people he had ever come close to loving in his entire life.

As Robb and Theon continued their bantering, Sona noticed a figure approach them from behind Robb. She noticed him run a hand through his curly black hair. She noticed his sleepless eyes, his unhappy face, how he had begun carrying a sword with himself at all times. She noticed him acknowledge her staring as his eyes locked with hers. He gave her a small smile, and she returned it. She noticed how insincere it was, how it had been so long since she had seen his smile reach his eyes.

Jon Snow strode towards them and took a seat next to Robb, a Stark from head to toe as long as mannerism and physical appearances were concerned, but he was not a Stark. He was a bastard, and it was eating him alive. "Good morning."

Robb and Theon responded to his greeting while Sona just continued observing him. They had been inseparable as children, her and Jon. Maybe she was even closer to him than she was to Robb. Sona couldn't remember, but - either way - it did not matter anymore. Jon had drifted away from her while growing up. His insecurity of being born a bastard had driven him away from his brother, a walking, talking decoy of all Jon ever wanted to be. And because Sona was always with Robb, Jon had involuntarily driven himself away from her too.

Theon snapping his fingers in front of her broke her out of her daze. "Were you having a vision mutant?"

Sona rolled her eye and chose not to respond. Theon referred to the color of her eyes as a mutilation. He tried making numerous jokes about them, often calling her names like abomination and sometimes even white walker, but none were every funny. For his sake, though, she faked a laugh sometimes but it bothered her nonetheless. Sona hated her unconventional eyes. Her irises looked like crystals with broken pieces of sapphire floating within them; they really did make her feel like a mutant.

"Knock it off Greyjoy," Robb stated, knowing well of Sona's insecurity. "No one paws at your inhibitions."

Then smirked, "Because I have none."

"That's not what Rose from the brothel told me," Sona muttered, loud enough for the three boys to here. Theon glared at her, Robb laughed and Jon just smiled.

Hearing someone call out for Robb, they turned their heads and found Ned Stark heading their way, a sight which made them stand up from where they were seated, all in respect. Sona took in the image of the man she owed her life to, and - as always - doing so overwhelmed her with emotions she couldn't exactly pinpoint: gratitude, relief, pride, honor and luck, just to name a few.

"Robb," he looked at his son first as he stopped before all four of them. His eyes then scanned over the other three he considered his children just as much as he did Robb, Sansa, Arya, Bran and Rickon. "Jon, Sona, Theon," He nodded towards the three of them and they muttered their greetings in unison. "I have news for you all."

Sona furrowed her eyes in confusion; Lord Stark never took the time out to personally address them, unless it was regarding something important. Noticing the curiosity upon the four's faces, he continued, "It is utmost grief that I inform you four of Jon Arryn's departure from this world."

Sona's face dropped at the news, fully aware of the position Lord Arryn held in Lord Stark's life. Thought she had never personally met him, the news filled her with sorrow. It was always upsetting to acknowledge the passing of an honorable man, one that - according to the stories she had heard - Jon Arryn definitely was. "I'm so sorry for your loss, Lord Stark," she spoke before anyone else did, earning a sad smile from Ned Stark as he gave her a small nod.

"There is more news," he continued. "The King rides for Winterfell, and is expected to arrive shortly," Now Sona was even more confused; what was going on? "During the next couple of weeks, I expect you all to be on your best behavior. I may demand more from you lot than you expect me to, but that is only because my pride resides in the four of you," He looked at Theon as he spoke the next sentence, well aware of his tendency to cause trouble. "Don't let me down."

* * *

 **A/N: I'm really liking where this is headed. Thank you so much thunder18, I.C.2014 and XxOriginalHybridxX for reviewing, and also everyone who followed and favorites. Encourages me so** **much!**

 **Please review and do let me know what you think of it; the good, the bad, the ugly. P.S: I've messed around with some of the character's ages to go along with the storyline better.**


	3. Chapter 3

Sona sighed and leaned her back against Theon's as they sat on the ground, facing opposite directions. It was still fairly early for the rest of the castle to be awake. Robb had, for once, decided to sleep longer than he usually would in order to spend time with Sona, and thus had left her extremely bored. As soon as the first hour of her morning had ended, she had gone and woken up Theon Greyjoy - with much difficultly and a stream of profanities from him, of course.

They had then gone wandering off into the woods, not far enough for it to be dangerous - they were armed anyway - but enough for them to be away from the hustle of the castle. The clearing they sat in was one that Sona frequently visited whenever she wanted to be alone.

"Exactly how long do I have to sit here with you?" Theon bit the apple in his hand and asked irritably, being his usual self.

Sona craned her neck to look at him, her back against his, and stabbed him with her elbow. "Go, Greyjoy. Go do whatever else you rather be doing."

Theon narrowed his eyes as he stared at a tree, not expecting her to cave into his distastefulness so easily. It's not like he had actually wanted to leave, he loved spending time with his friend and nothing at that moment was more pleasant than getting away from the annoying preparations of King Robert's arrival. "No, it's alright... I suppose I can stay..."

She forced back a chuckle, knowing Theon was just feigning wanting to go back. "It's quite alright Theon, you can leave. In fact, I think I will too. Let's go."

"No!" Theon let out, a bit quicker and louder than he would've liked, as he felt her body shift to stand up. "I mean... it's alright. Let's sit for a while, you must be tired from all the work you've been required to do over the past few days."

Sona rolled her eyes even though she knew he couldn't see her. She slumped back into her previous position, leaning her back against his once more as she stretched out her legs. "Why do you do that?"

"Do what?"

She chuckled and purposefully bumped the back of her head against his. "Oh, you know, that thing you do where you pretend to be the biggest prick in all of Westeros. You mostly succeed."

Sona reached her arm back and stole the apple he was about to place in his mouth again, biting into it as she waited for his response. Theon sighed and she felt him shrug. "I don't know," she could hear the sincerity in his voice. "I suppose I've been like this ever since Lord Stark brought me here. I just don't want anyone think that I'm weak. I don't want to seem vulnerable to people who don't see me as their own."

Soon frowned, "That's not true Theon." She turned around so she could face him, sitting cross-legged as she pulled his shoulder, urging him to do the same. "This is your home. I'm not from Winterfell either, but we grew up here. Home is where the heart is."

"But you're from the north,"

"We don't know that," She gave him a look before squeezing his shoulder. "Do you not feel at home here?"

Theon nodded, making her smile. "Then this is your home, and no one will ever be able to change that. It's not about how people feel about you, it's about how _you_ feel about yourself," with that, she stood and gave him her hand to help him up. "Come on now, we best get back."

* * *

Sona stood with wide eyes, her lips pressed into a straight line as she stifled her laughter. Before her sat Robb and Theon with their heads hung low in humiliation as they sulked silence. Sona tried her best to not laugh, but it became harder to control herself as the seconds passed by. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she burst out laughing.

"What," she spoke in-between her laughter, her eyes squinted as her grin reached upwards. "in the world happened to you two?"

Robb finally raised his head to look at her, glaring. "Shut up!"

She didn't though. Sona laughed freely as her two friends shot metaphorical daggers at her. The news of the arrival of the King had spread throughout Winterfell like wildfire. Everyone had been induldging themselves in preparations to impress King Robert, his wife, his children and whoever else accompanied them from King's Landing. Lady Catelyn, Lord Stark's wife, looked to perfect every single detail of every single aspect of the castle, her son and the Lord's ward included. It was due to this that, unfortunately, Robb and Theon had been ordered to cut their wild locks and shave their beards, much to their dismay.

"I honestly felt quite happy leaving the barber's den," Robb huffed. "Until I went to my room and looked in the mirror."

Sona continued laughing, feeling neither sympathetic nor empathetic towards the two. "How could you be happy when you two look like twelve year olds?"

Then stood up in annoyance, crossing his arms over his chest. "Well, it's not like we asked for it. Besides," he smirked. "You should see Jon. He's even worse."

Sona rolled her eyes, about to scold him for constantly jibing at Jon when she saw Bran run towards them, shouting and frantically waving his hands around. He ran so fast that he was unable to slow down when he reached them, making him crash into Robb who stood to catch him in his arms.

"Easy there," Robb laughed, looked down at his panting brother. "What's the matter? Why are you yelling?"

"I saw the King!" Bran exclaimed, his eyes twinkling with excitement. Sona smiled as she looked at the young boy. He was such a lovely child, with a gentle heart and dreams bigger than himself. He had been the happiest person in the entire castle when the journey of the King to Winterfell had been announced, and had barely been able to contain himself as he'd rambled on and on, asking questions of the King's soldiers, knight's and his Kingsguard. Sona knew that he wished to be a knight of the Kingsguard, and prayed to the Old Gods that he his dreams came true.

"He has so many men!" Bran continued, pushing himself away from Robb as he stood straight. "They're almost here! They're almost here!"

Robb chuckled and led his brother and two friends towards the main courtyard where everyone was expected to gather and greet the King. Soon enough, the rest of his family and important members of the castle joined them, expecting the royal party to arrive within a few minutes. The Stark family lined up and the rest of the people stood behind them. Sona spotted Jon and squeezed through the crowd to reach him, struggling to make her place in between him and Maester Luwin.

Jon studied her from the corner of his eye, slightly taken back by her sudden appearance. "Hello," he spoke, eyeing her up and down as he furrowed his eyebrows. Why was she here?

She gave him a large smile, her crystal eyes glistening as the sun peaked from behind the clouds and shone down at them. "Nice haircut."

Jon huffed and rolled his eyes, realising the purpose to why she'd stood next to him. "Spare me, please. Arya has done everybody's part by laughing at me all day."

"I think you look rather handsome," Sonna smirked, tilting her head. "For a twelve year old, of course."

Jon glared at her, but his face broke into smile as he studied her childish expression. It had been ages since they'd had a proper conversation alone, and it reminded him of what a good friend she'd always been to him.

As Sona turned her face to stare ahead, Jon let his smile drop into a frown; he'd chosen this life for himself, he'd chosen to distance himself from Robb and Sona - hells, Theon even - yet he was unhappier than he had been with them close to him. Robb was his brother, they shared the same blood and Jon knew that they would always be ready to sacrifice their lives for one another. Sona had been his best friend, they used to do everything together. She had always put him before herself. Was he right to steer himself away from the only family he had?

Jon shook his head, dismissing the thoughts that clouded his mind. Sona noticed and furrowed her eyebrows. "Are you okay?"

He felt his heart drop at the amount of concern that laced her voice. He missed her, he miss his brother, he even missed Theon and his constant barking. Jon still conversed with them, but in a manner which indicated that he was far from being well acquainted with the three. Robb and Sona had tried their best to make Jon open up and fix things when he had initially started acting this way, but - over time - they had resorted to letting it be.

"Aye," he nodded.

Soon after, the gates opened to reveal a flood of three hundred men pour into the castle. Men in armor of gold and silver and white, riding their stallions and wearing their helmets, came to a halt inside the courtyard. Some were of the Kingsguard, their armor giving them away, while others were knights, soldiers and simple banner-men holding flags that symbolised the stag of House Baratheon.

The crowd kneeled down as the King entered, dismounting his horse as he gazed over everyone. Sona looked up from her place near the ground and noticed one of the men of the Kingsguard dismount from his horse as well, taking off his helmet to shake his golden hair into place. She noticed that he was probably the most attractive of the lot. Simultaneously, a woman she assumed to be the Queen exited her carriage, and the rest of the men dismounted as well, the Prince and the Imp inclusive.

Robert Baratheon approached the Stark family and exchanged his greetings as everyone else rose to stand again. Sona noticed that he was nothing like the man she had imagined him to be based on Lord Stark's descriptions of his muscled body, tall height and grace - the grace of a warrior, as he would call it. King Robert, now, looked nothing but a very fat, very angry old man.

She felt as if she was being watched and looked towards the royal entourage to notice the handsome blonde man's eyes on her, his brow arched in curiosity as he openly stared at her. Sona raised an eyebrow as well, not shying away from his gaze. He was probably wondering about her humanoid eyes, a reaction from people that Sona had gotten used to. She knew how to deal with it.

Jon noticed Sona looking beyond where the King stood and followed her gaze, his own landing upon a man that he - from descriptions he had been told by his Lord father - immediately recognised to be the Kingslayer, Jaime Lannister. He furrowed his eyebrows and frowned; he did not like this exchange between the two of them. Not one bit

* * *

 **A/N: Here's another one! Thank you so much for the reviews, follows and favorites, they really do encourage me to write more. Please do review and tell me what you like/hate about this. And Eid Mubarak to all my Muslim readers!**


End file.
